Innocence
by ForsakenProdigy
Summary: At the end of the second game, we know both of these characters are looking for each other. This is a series of one-shots featuring unlikely friends N and Hilda traveling the world. They are chronological, but they don't necessarily connect to each other. It focuses on N's quirkiness and their awkward relationship with romantic implications (nothing explicit). Updates periodically.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon or its characters. This is purely non-profit. But feel free to send me money for any other reason. :)**

 **A/N: There are a lot of good ferriswheelshipping fics out there, but I've noticed a trend of N being depicted as forceful or malicious. I've always perceived him as sweet and innocent, so I decided to write a fic with them. Enjoy!**

 **~F.P.**

Hilda wasn't sure what brought her here again, but she was thankful that it did. Her past few years had been wasted, searching the world in vain for a droll young man with tea green hair. In truth, this was the place she considered admitting defeat and apologizing to his memory for never being able to find him.

But there he was, all the same.

At the base of the Nimbasa City's Ferris wheel and off to its side, N was crouched to the ground, staring contemplatively at a Pokéball. "We won't give up," he assured it in a soft voice, his pace of speech still a bit fast - just like she remembered it.

"N?" White asked.

He rose to his feet and locked his blue-gray gaze on her, his expression curious and difficult to read. He tilted his head inquiringly - as if the situation had left him in some way confused. Then, he started to approach her.

In truth, Hilda wasn't sure what to expect. She had spent her fair share of nights awake, wondering what she would tell him when she found him, but all of her words fled from her when she finally needed them, perhaps from the shock of him being here, of all places.

Apparently, she didn't need them.

He wrapped her into a tight embrace for what - Hilda believed - was a little longer than societally acceptable, but she certainly didn't say anything. This was the hug of someone unfamiliar with the concept, acting only on the desire to touch and be closer to someone he cared about.

"My friends and I have been looking for you." he finally said, pulling away. "I...I just wanted to say I'm sorry. We never meant to hurt you or your Pokémon, and I should've trusted you from the start when I saw how much they cared about you."

"N, I-"

"And I know you must be disgusted with me, but please...don't hold it against my friends. We all thought we were doing the right thing. I wanted to tell you how much I respect you, and that the lessons I learned from you have made me stronger as a trainer and a better person."

As Hilda pondered a suitable response, N turned his expression downwards, suddenly uncomfortable making eye contact. Again, N spoke, "I'll get out of your sight now **."**

This time, White had an immediate response. "Wait!" N turned. "Where will you go?"

He stayed silent for a long moment, then said, "I don't know."

"It just so happens that's where I'm going, too." She smiled.

"What?"

"I don't hate you. I pity you. I've been worried about you since you left years ago. It must've been...incredibly lonely."

He sat on the ground and adjusted his hat. "Not really. I had my friends with me."

Hilda awkwardly sat across from him, unsure of how to broach the subject of his "friends" being incapable of human speech. She couldn't deny, however, that he did have an odd way of communicating with his Pokémon. "But what about human friends?"

N shook his head. "I don't know much about people, really. I used to hate them. But I'm not sure anymore." He quickly added, "You're a good one, though."

"My only point is we're both heading nowhere really fast, so...why not travel together?" Her smile hadn't faded, but it took on a more hopeful look.

N muttered something in the direction of the Pokéball, and then said, "That sounds wonderful." In a fluid motion, he jumped to his feet and tossed the Pokéball in front of him, releasing the dragon of ideals. He gestured for Hilda to climb on.

Hilda found a safe place to ride Reshiram, tightly clutching its horns. She was a bit surprised when she felt N climb on the dragon behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. When she turned to see him, blushing, he looked entirely unashamed and disinterested. If the gesture had meant to be romantic, she certainly couldn't tell. It seemed unlike him to hide his emotions.

"Are you ready?" N asked.

Hilda nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

With that, the Reshiram flew into the night.

 **A/N: I'm fairly new to this site, so please inform me of any errors. Each story is VERY short. I will update it to include a cover image as soon as I draw something.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I usually update on more of a weekly basis, but this seemed too cute not to write more with immediately. Plus, each entry is so short.**

 **~F.P.**

A long day's hiking an unfamiliar mountain somewhere in Kanto region had only taken N and Hilda in circles, ultimately leaving them more lost than when they began. Their food supply was almost gone, so their meal for that particular evening consisted of a pot of water boiled with a couple of vegetables and whatever else they could find. Hilda had tentatively labeled it "soup." Nonetheless, they were not ready to turn back just yet, and Reshiram needed a rest.

N was a finicky eater and had poked around at his "soup" with his spoon for a while before actually trying it, but now he seemed to enjoy it. Far too...earthy for Hilda's tastes. And by "earthy" she meant it tasted like literal dirt.

N sat criss-cross opposite the small fire (the small fire his Darmanitan had been so proud of making) from Hilda, staring at his bowl thoughtfully. He had always seemed strange to Hilda, but after just a few weeks of traveling together, they both seemed to grow very comfortable with each other.

Though he could be distant at times, she knew he was in no way malicious. From the start, N had been a misguided innocent striving in vain for the approval of a cruel man he believed was his only family, not some evil mastermind.

It was almost at the darkest point of the night, and it was beginning to grow very chilly. The fire burned only dimly, offering very little warmth to either of them. However, it seemed best not to stoke the fire, lest they risk drawing the attention of all the wild Pokémon in the area.

After he finished his bowl and set it to the side, he made a curious statement. "Hilda, it's different." For someone who - at times could be open and innocent - he could certainly adopt a faraway, almost detached persona at other times.

Hilda - painfully aware of his idiosyncrasies - always tried to be polite, regardless of how unclear some of the things he said were because she remembered Ghetsis's words: "a defective freak without a human heart." She never wanted him to feel like those words were true.

Those words had probably hurt him, but not as much as who it was that said them. She sympathized with how alone he must have felt, and again she regretted not reuniting with him sooner.

"Different how?" Hilda finally asked, her tone even.

"I've always had good friends, but you're my first human friend." he declared. "And that makes you different. I don't feel the same when you're here as I did when it was just me and my Pokémon friends."

 _His first human friend.._ It was a title Hilda would wear with pride.

Running a hand through her hair, Hilda asked, "Is that good?"

"I think so," Other than that, he shrugged and had no more immediate input on the matter

 **A/N: if you have any constructive criticism or if you notice any errors, leave a review or PM me, if it isn't too much trouble. I will update again soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for reading this far. I just wanted to throw in something about N and math because he is insinuated to have a penchant for mathematics, but I never see much with it.**

 **~F.P.**

They had only been there for a few days, and Hilda already decided she hated the Kalos region - or at least Luminose City. Such big cities with so few Pokémon - aside from strays - made N very uncomfortable, and since their arrival, his eyes had been focused acutely on the ground. Perhaps the worst part had been when the hotel refused to give them a room because they weren't "stylish enough." While Hilda perceived it as incredibly rude, N didn't seem to acknowledge the overrefined attitude at all, only giving a slight nod and turning to leave.

Hilda was frozen with an incredulous look for a few moments until the man behind the counter snapped his fingers and gestured for her to "shoo, shoo." Shaking her head and pondering whether or not to offer a rude gesture of her own, Hilda scurried to catch up with N, who she found crouched on the other side of the street, petting and softly speaking to two stray Skiddo.

He didn't look up, so Hilda wasn't sure when he had noticed her, but he said, "Their trainer abandoned them here a long time ago."

"Who told you that?"

N finally glanced up at her, tilting his head in confusion. "They did," he stated in a matter-of-fact way, as if to insinuate it was obvious.

"Oh, err - right. Sorry," said Hilda. "Why don't we take them with us?"

"Even if we offered, they wouldn't come." he replied, turning his gaze back to the Pokémon. "They're waiting for their trainer to come back."

Hilda frowned slightly. "He isn't coming back, is he?"

N shook his head. "I don't think so," he murmured. "Neither do they."

Hilda knelt across from the Skiddo and N, reaching to pet one of the goat-like creatures' ears softly. It and its companion fled immediately, crying out in a warning way.

"They don't trust humans anymore," N said flatly.

"Then why do they wait for their trainer like this?"

N stayed silent for a long moment - something that had grown to be quite uncommon since had gotten more comfortable with her. He once again adopted a faraway look in his eyes before adding. "They're like me."

Hilda was about to ask for clarification, but he expounded on it momentarily without prompting. "It's easier to be blindly led by someone even if they're bad for you than to be abandoned by someone you care about. And once you've been abandoned, it's hard to accept." After he finished speaking, he turned his head to the side, blushing. "Sorry, I went a bit off on a tangent there. Maybe this applies more to me. I'm not sure I see the connection anymore. People are just too complicated for me "

"Don't worry about it." She put a hand on his shoulder, which he stared critically for a few moments before looking away.

Absent-mindedly, he unhooked the Menger sponge from his belt, studying it. "When you get down to it, any level of mathematics is so much so simpler than people because it's perfect. You can detect patterns and solve it, if presented with enough information. But you can never have enough information to figure a person out. You can't factor in idiosyncrasies, emotions, subconscious bias."

All Hilda could think to say was, "Sorry for scaring your Skiddo away." The streets in Luminose were surprisingly clean for such a big city, but she wasn't sure how Pokémon could handle themselves alone there.

N offered an unconcerned shrug. "There isn't anything I can do for them. To stop depending on someone, you have to realize they're wrong on your own."

 **A/N: Emo F.P. strikes again! Ha, sorry. Didn't mean to make this one so...you know. Promise the next one will be light-hearted.**


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